Frances Dee ~ This is a genuine vintage color tinted cigarette card from the 1930s Goldfilm series. Card #405. About 1½" x 2½" Very Good. The surface crud you can see in my scan is mostly on the plastic protective sleeve, not the card. I'll replace it with a new one before shipping this to you.

Brunette Frances Dee was born in Los Angeles, where her Army officer father was stationed, and grew up in Chicago after her dad was transferred there. In 1929 he was re-assigned to L.A., and (as a lark) Dee began working in motion pictures as an extra; her debut was in Words and Music with Lois Moran. After playing her breakthrough role in Playboy of Paris opposite Maurice Chevalier, she met Joel McCrea on the set of the 1933 film The Silver Cord; following a whirlwind courtship, the two were married later that year in Rye, New York. In 1970, she and McCrea were rumored to be worth between fifty and one hundred million dollars. (Their 57-year marriage ended in 1990, the year of his death.) Dee hasn't acted since the mid-'50s, and says she doesn't miss it.

This lot consists of a genuine German cigarette premium issued between about 1930 and 1937. In general, German cigarette cards and premiums make an interesting and inexpensive addition to any collection. The Nazi government of Germany opposed smoking and eventually put an end to cigarette cards. As a result, the native German card collecting hobby never developed to the extent of that in Britain or the United States. As a result, most German premiums and cards cost only a fraction of what might be expected from their American and British cousins.

Large photos are shown smaller than actual size while small ones are generally enlarged to as much as twice their original size. Almost all photos and cards are scanned through protective sleeves or pages which tends to cut the clarity a bit. Enlarged defects tend to look worse than they actually are.